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Sevens takes a hit, but Fiji safeguard Rugby World Cup bonuses

(Photo by Adam Pretty/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Fiji Rugby Union trustees board interim chairman Peter Maze has confirmed that while the investigation into the union’s financial troubles has seen debts of £1.2million (Fiji $3.5m) uncovered, preparations for the upcoming Rugby World Cup would not be affected.

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Mazey said the FRU had even budgeted for the Flying Fijians to reach the final of the tournament in France, but there was bad news of budget cuts for the double Olympic Games gold medal-winning sevens squad.

Speaking at a media conference at Rugby House, Mazey said: “We have only been here a month and there is so much work for us to do in getting everything here in order, so we are asking the people of Fiji to bear with us.

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“We know that many of you have disliked us, or do not like us, but we are doing everything we can to get things in order.

“For the RWC, we are not looking at cost cutting – we are going to win. We have got bonuses budgeted if they get to the final. For HSBC sevens, we will work on budget cuts. It’s quite hard to send all our players into camps for long periods of time for camps held in tourist resorts which cost $25k a week. We can’t afford that.”

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Mazey added that since the formation of the new trustee’s board, several issues had been uncovered with the debt level being their biggest concern. “We have to find a way to pay off our debts before we attend to anything else,” he said. “Having reported $1.7m in debt as of 2022, the level has doubled over the past few months.

“We believe much of this is because of the lack of proper budgeting or the following of budgets provided in almost area here at FRU. There are many things that have led to the spike in our debt level. It all goes back to accountability. Even to the smallest of things where funds have been wasted.”

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H
Hellhound 31 minutes ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

It's people like Donald who lives in the past that is holding NZ rugby back. The game has evolved, and so has the rules, the strategies and most importantly, time don't stand still. Time never stops. Either you move with it or you fall behind.


Look at SA. They were in a slump. Their best players played in leagues around the world because there was just no money or future in SA for them. Fast forward and in came Rassie. Leading from the front, he managed to get the changes he needed to affect change, a change that rocked the rugby world and now in 2024 have a team that is double WC champs. Not with players that played in SA, but with players playing their rugby in various leagues across the world.


Rugby was a dying brand, but he blew life into it being innovative, moving with the times and taking advantage of it. These same heroes are revered, plying their trade in SA or elsewhere. Every youngster have their heroes and they follow them regardless of where they are. Every kid wants to be a Bok. With all these successes, money started flowing in and the heroes started coming back to SA. Suddenly there was money in the sport again in the country.


Rassie's impact stretches far beyond just being a successful WC coach. He changed the sport forever in the country, and it's brought forth a wave of talent, the likes such as other countries can only dream off. A whole new generation of superstars are born, because these kids all want to play rugby and all of them wants to be Boks.


For years to come because of the eligibility rules being side swiped, the Boks will mostly rule the rugby world and until countries drop old foolish habits like their eligibility rules that limits them profusely, they will be stuck at the bottom, staring up at the stars they will never be able to reach. Not because they are not talented, but because they don't have the best available.


So yes, let's not sugarcoat it. Losing eligibility rules is a must for future success to growing the game in your own country. By limiting a players abilities to earn and learn from other leagues will destroy the game in your country. It's a slow poison administration that is effectively poisoning the sport in the country.


Do not cry when your team is subpar filled with amateur players trying to win against an international team like the Boks. The Boks doesn't stay stagnant with strategies that won them 2 WC's, they keep evolving. Rassie does not mind players going and playing in leagues across the world because they spend the money in evolving those players to future stars, money SARU saves and can reinvest in the school, university and club rugby, thus saving hundreds of millions. Young stars that can light up the world stage, already known by other fans and ready to switch and light up the World stage and bring more glory to their country, even though they are not playing in the country.


Fools like Donald is chasing fools gold and is strangling NZ rugby and is stopping them from evolving. Others will follow SA, seeing how they keep evolving and keep getting stronger, with a pool of stars getting bigger and bigger, where they can start to choose more and more teams that could compete and beat the best, even though they are seen as the 3rd or 4th or 5th stringers in SA. The Boks can put out at least 3 teams that can beat any team in the world and all 3 would be top 10 in the world. That is not bragging, just mere facts.

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